Task Force Debates Potency Of Edible Pot Products

Colorado's best and brightest gathered Wednesday to discuss what may be the single greatest most delicious threat to our nation's health: eating too many pot brownies.

The Associated Press reported that the task force included health officials and state regulators along with leaders of Colorado's burgeoning pot industry, who attempted to find a way to curb the growing problem of consumers who, unaware of high levels of pot-concentration, are taking their snacking habits too far.

The issue here is that marijuana, which varies widely in potency, is difficult to accurately dose, so no one knows quite what to expect when they dig into box of Chips And Marijuana Ahoy (note: not an actual product). Inexperienced consumers can have experiences that are unpleasant, or even deadly; one Wyoming college student jumped to his death last month after eating six times the recommended dosage of pot cookies. Which, in case you were curious, is 10mg per serving.

One member of the task force, who was apparently not high at the time, suggested labeling edibles with a system reminiscent of ski slope guidelines: green circles for the mildly potent stuff, and black diamonds for brownies that make you see God.

"All of us want to make sure people are safe," Meg Collins, task force member and executive director of the Denver-based Cannabis Business Alliance, told the Associated Press. "The industry is stepping up and is looking at the best ways to educate and communicate to its customers safe ways to recreate with marijuana."

Meanwhile, pot-infused candy producer and legitimate businessman Dan Anglin made a case for adding warning labels and improving training for dispensary employees, but warned that rules making edible products too weak could drive customers to the black market.

Edible goods must currently be sold in opaque, childproof containers warning that the product contains marijuana. The state also bans retailers from doing things like injecting cannabis oil into a branded candy bar, because who would assume that the Snickers bars sold at the local pot dispensary are any different from the ones at the convenience store?

"We just have to be more responsible about how we use it and we store. Just making sure the public knows," said Dr. George Sam Wang of Children's Hospital.

The task force has no immediate deadline for suggesting new regulations on edibles, leaving them plenty of time to brainstorm and see what their minds cook up--perhaps after consuming the recommended legal dosage of weed-injected candy.